My Okinawan Experience, Part 1

Two summers ago, I had the opportunity to live in Japan for roughly two months with a host family, through a scholarship program called Youth For Understanding (via Panasonic).

I expected to be placed in some major city, like most of the kids in the program, such as Tokyo, Osaka or one of the little cities outside of either of them. My previous experiences in Japan had consisted of city living; it was almost what I came to expect from Japanese life. Little did I know I would be placed on a tiny island, two hours off of mainland Japan.

Needless to say, the news of my assignment in Okinawa was somewhat shocking. I had no idea what kind of "life" I was in for. This island is somewhat considered the "Hawaii" of Japan by mainland residents. In addition, the military base on the island led me to believe I wasn't going to have quite the "authentic" Japanese experience. I wasn't sure if this was an entirely good thing - tourism and Americans? Is this what I had signed up for?



I was placed in Naha, Okinawa's capital city. Its on the southern portion of the island. See the picture to the right! It is highlighted in red.

To further clarify: this wasn't really a city in the sense that we see New York, or even other major Japanese cities. It was a lot more... quaint.

Downtown Naha (see my photo at the top of this post) was mostly government buildings, one department store (not like the hundreds you see in Tokyo) which really didn't have much, and a simple rail system that allowed you to get around Naha. Not to say that there were that many places you could go within the city. Well. Especially since I couldn't speak Japanese at all - a small caveat... Of course, learning the bus system became a real challenge, since I had no idea how to identify the stops that the driver was calling out. Anyways, Naha only really had one main street, sort of like New York's Broadway I suppose, called Kokusai street, which essentially only sold touristy goods to visiting Japanese people and military personnel.

At first I really struggled to accustom myself to life in Naha. I sought to see the culture of Japan, rather than that of a city who drew many tourists and much American influence.....


These were just the beginnings of my experience in Okinawa.
I have so much to say about this experience that I'll probably have to split it up into several posts.


Here's some of my photography from the trip in the meantime.







This is the top floor of the Okinawan Prefectural Office. As you can see there's a little cafe...







A little model of Naha city, also on the top floor of the Prefectural office.













My Japanese cell phone. Slick.













I hope to continue this soon!

Tiff